European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 17, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse Mashups fought fiercely in their easy campaigns halfheartedly when going got r " ". Fighting yank in Kashmir by Russell k. Iia1ght a -. ,.- a former air Force sergeant fighting yith Kashmir moslem in India tells of spy charges by communists How he barely missed assassination and his decision to return to denier As a Soldier of Ortune with the Kashmir moslem in rebellion against the Bifid us in India Russell. K. Height Rose to the tank of Brig Adier general. In this the second of two articles the former u. S. Air Force sergeant tells How he became embroiled with India s communists the glaciers of Nagar Are massed in an uninterrupted Barrier fro Northern Afghanistan to the Hima Layan Foothills. Here is the True Cross roads of the East. In this wild country Afghanistan India Tibet China an soviet Russia meet. Between the soviet and India the Barrier can be crossed through the Gil git passes. In 1889, the British established the Gil git Agency and founded the Gil git scouts As a Barrier against any russian expansion into British Are gone now and the Only news that comes Down from the Gil git passes is that the wild Patha tribesmen still roam there. At punch and later at Kotlik Janchar seria and Mirpuri the pathans i commanded had been equipped with russian the Pathan carries a Home forged single shot Rifle or just a Spear a Hatchet or a Pulwar a Long curved Saber. Now and then one sees a Pathan with a stolen British Enfield Rifle. A tribe of 300 in which every Man is. Armed with a russian 7.7 Rifle its serial numbers carefully filed off is some thing to arouse suspicion. No Pathan would bother about a serial the Bazaar Section of Rawalpindi Pakistan there is a two Story red Brick building surrounded by a twelve foot Brick Wall. It used to be a Missio College. It has a very special kind of Mission today teaching founders of the College were the Public relations men of the Azad free Kashmir government Mitha a mos Lem and g. K. Ready a hindu. British officers in Pakistan used to Tell me to avoid them but i got to know them weekend april 17, ims pretty Well and i liked them at first. Lived with them in punch House every time i came to and ready had founded the Kashmir Freedom league. Why ready a hindu was taking part in a moslem revolt against the hindu government of India i could Only guess. The league has no official connection with, avowed purpose is to offer constructive criticism to Azad in order to improve the lot of the common people of i first went to live with Mitha and ready they tried to convert , used As their text the people s age Bombay s daily worker. Their argument was invariable that Only communism could end the poverty that prevails everywhere including the United states and excepting Only Russia. Mitha and ready parroted the charges in the people s age that the United states is trying to inherit the British Empire including both. India and Pakistan. a while they saw that it was useless to try to win me Over but we remained friends. They even took me to visit their Kashmir Freedom league College several times. There i saw Stu dents men Between Twenty five an fifty years old taking physical train ing military Drill and Street fighting exercises. I heard Mitha give a lecture on systems of government. His Point was that the world which has move from feudalism to capitalism must inevitably proceed to socialism and finally to communism. He said the Britis labor government was Only a weak step Forward on the Road along which the whole world eventually will March. There were x ther teachers at the College some of them strangely enough. Blond and Blue eyed i never saw a lond Blue eyed pakistani afghan Pathan or hindu. These teachers could not speak either urdu or Pushtu the two languages of Kashmir. They d shrug their shoulders when i tried eng Lish on them. I do know they weren t moslem for i used to see them drink ing in bars around Rawalpindi. No mos Lem touches liquor. Mitha explained to me that the Stu dents of the College became qualified social workers on graduation. Then they were sent to liberated towns in the Wake of our advancing army. There they would do refugee work and Helpin in preparation for this career they were studying economics government history and phys ical training.". I never saw the school s graduates in action but Mitha once told me that they were reorganizing Kotlik and Mirpuri after my troops had captured those and ready never went to the front but we had one communist who was one of our Best generals. He was Abdul Latif Afghani who is still com Mander of Azad forces in Uri a District bordering Gil git. His last name tells part of his Story. Abdul Latif is an afghan who was expelled from his own country seven years ago for communist activity. Heis the Only Azad officer who won t Wear a uniform. He saunters around jauntily in an old Beret a worn leather shooting jacket and baggy trousers with Bandolier full of cartridges Slung Over his shoulder. Abdul never argues. When d talk about the Virtues of american democracy he d merely say we won Exchange slavery under the British Raj for slavery under the american rom my talks with Kashmir communists i got the impression they were just waiting for Russia to conic Down through the Gil git passes and take Over India and Pakistan. I did like the Prospect and i discussed it with British officers in British had two constant topics of conversation one would there be War Between India and Pakistan and two if so How Long would the russians wait before moving in British Intelli gence was much interested in the in formation i gave them about communists in Kashmiri they already knew most of what i had to say but they asked me to watch for More. Especially they asked me to keep them completely informed on the activities of Mitha and ready. I did. And that s what led Tomy flight from Kashmir. One Day a strange Convoy came Down from the Hills. All i knew about it was that Mitha and ready were determine to smuggle it across the Pakistan fron tier to India. I tipped off British Intelli gence. The Convoy was stopped that Day. That night Mitha and ready sen two gunmen to kill me. They came at me out of a dark alleys i walked Down a quiet Street. It was after Midnight and i was returning froma party. When i saw the glint of Moon Light on a pistol barrel i hit the Bullet kicked my hat As i went Down. I rolled Over pulling my .38 from it shoulder Holster. The men crouched not More than thirty feet away and fire again. I fired Back and saw one Man Hal turn with my third Bullet and then fall heavily on his Back. I sent the other three bullets at the second Man. He slumped slowly to his Knees and the pitched Forward on his face. I Lay there quietly for a moment breathing heavily. Neither of the gun men moved. I picked myself up an dusted off my Stetson then 1 Felt the Hole. One Bullet had gone through thetis of the brim and the Crown about an eighth of an Inch from where i party hair. Without thinking i ran. I just turned around and ran in the direction i had come from. I ran As fast As i could Andi did t Stop until i was out of breath. Then i leaned against a tree in the shadows and gulped the fresh night air. I decided that i could t go Baclic to my room at punch House where i d been staying with Mitha and ready my communist friends. Whoever had sent the gunmen for me probably had More waiting there instead i went to the Home of the British intelligence officer whom i had tipped off about the mysterious Convoy Mitha and ready had tried to smuggle to India that Day. We talked All night theorizing about who had tried to have me knocked off. In the morning after doing some checking he apologized. It seems he d told the Pakistan police to Stop the Convoy at the Border. The police did that but there were1 leaks inthe Pakistan police department and my communist pals found put where thetis had come from. I n repayment for spoiling my advancing career with the Azad Kash Mir army the British officer offered. To help me Cross the Pakistan Borde Rinto India. Fine i said Here they want to shoot me. In India they want to hang me. The Indian government claims my International brigade committed Matroci in the end he persuaded me that i d be safer trying to hide in India where the government did t know i was around than in Rawalpindi where the communists did. He persuaded me to shave off my moustache. I had a set of handlebars five inches Long that had taken me six months to raise. I hated to lose that growth but i needed the disguise. I put on civilian clothes and was taken to the Railroad station. I did t think anyone would recognize me without my uni form and moustache. I got on the train and went into a first class we pulled out of the station a major of the Pakistan army whom knew opened the compartment door and stepped in. He took one look at me and said Haight what have you done to yourself. I replied that i was going to see the United. States Consul at Lahore an wanted to look like a civilian american. It was the first excuse i could think of a but a Good one. Everyone knew that the state department had been putting pressure on me to return Home almost since the Day i had joined the free. Kashmir forces., we talked All the Way to Lahore. He a Sis betting that India would soon beat open War with Pakistan. I did t know and i cared did know and care that soon All official Pakistan would have heard that was in civilian clothes. And i knew that my communist friends would soon have men waiting to meet the train continued on Page 22 15
